Assessment - A-Levels Computers
5.1 Assessment objectives
Assessment objectives (AOs) are set by Ofqual and are the same across all AS and A-level Computer Science specifications and all exam boards.
The exams will measure how students have achieved the following assessment objectives.
AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation.
AO2: Apply knowledge and understanding
- Apply knowledge and understanding of the principles and concepts of computer science, including to analyse problems in computational terms.
AO3: Design, program and evaluate
- Design, program and evaluate computer systems that solve problems, making reasoned judgements about these and presenting conclusions.
Weighting of assessment objectives for AS Computer Science
| Assessment objectives (AOs) | Component weightings (approx %) | Overall weighting (approx %) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Paper 2 | ||
| AO1 | 7 | 28 | 35 |
| AO2 | 16 | 19 | 35 |
| AO3 | 27 | 3 | 30 |
| Overall weighting of components | 50 | 50 | 100 |
Weighting of assessment objectives for A-level Computer Science
| Assessment objectives (AOs) | Component weightings (approx %) | Overall weighting (approx %) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Paper 2 | NEA | ||
| AO1 | 8 | 22 | 0 | 30 |
| AO2 | 12 | 16 | 2 | 30 |
| AO3 | 20 | 2 | 18 | 40 |
| Overall weighting of components | 40 | 40 | 20 | 100 |
5.3 Assessment weightings
The marks awarded on the papers will be scaled to meet the weighting of the components.
Students’ final marks will be calculated by adding together the scaled marks for each component.
Grade boundaries will be set using this total scaled mark. The scaling and total scaled marks are shown in the table below.
AS
| Component | Maximum raw mark | Scaling factor | Maximum scaled mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | 75 | ×1 | 75 |
| Paper 2 | 75 | ×1 | 75 |
| Total scaled mark: | 150 |
A-level
| Component | Maximum raw mark | Scaling factor | Maximum scaled mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | 100 | ×1.5 | 150 |
| Paper 2 | 100 | ×1.5 | 150 |
| NEA | 75 | ×1 | 75 |
| Total scaled mark: | 375 |
2.1 AS
Subject content
- 1 Fundamentals of programming
- 2 Fundamentals of data structures
- 3 Systematic approach to problem solving
- 4 Theory of computation
- 5 Fundamentals of data representation
- 6 Fundamentals of computer systems
- 7 Fundamentals of computer organisation and architecture
- 8 Consequences of uses of computing
- 9 Fundamentals of communication and networking
Assessments
Paper 1
| Section | Details |
|---|---|
| What's assessed | this paper tests a student's ability to program, as well as their theoretical knowledge of computer science from subject content 1-4 above. |
| Assessed | • On-screen exam: 1 hour 45 minutes • 50% of AS |
| Questions | Students answer a series of short questions and write/adapt/extend programs in an Electronic Answer Document provided by us. We will issue preliminary material, a skeleton program (available in each of the programming languages) and, where appropriate, test data, for use in the exam. |
Paper 2
| Section | Details |
|---|---|
| What's assessed | this paper tests a student's ability to answer questions from subject content 5-9 above. |
| Assessed | • Written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes • 50% of AS |
| Questions | A series of short-answer and extended-answer questions. |
2.2 A-level
Subject content
- 10 Fundamentals of programming
- 11 Fundamentals of data structures
- 12 Fundamentals of algorithms
- 13 Theory of computation
- 14 Fundamentals of data representation
- 15 Fundamentals of computer systems
- 16 Fundamentals of computer organisation and architecture
- 17 Consequences of uses of computing
- 18 Fundamentals of communication and networking
- 19 Fundamentals of databases
- 20 Big Data
- 21 Fundamentals of functional programming
- 22 Systematic approach to problem solving
- 23 Non-exam assessment - the computing practical project
Assessments
Paper 1
| Section | Details |
|---|---|
| What's assessed | this paper tests a student's ability to program, as well as their theoretical knowledge of Computer Science from subject content 10-13 above and the skills required from section 22 above. |
| Assessed | • On-screen exam: 2 hours 30 minutes • 40% of A-level |
| Questions | Students answer a series of short questions and write/adapt/extend programs in an Electronic Answer Document provided by us. We will issue Preliminary Material, a Skeleton Program (available in each of the Programming Languages) and, where appropriate, test data, for use in the exam. |
Paper 2
| Section | Details |
|---|---|
| What's assessed | this paper tests a student's ability to answer questions from subject content 14-21 above. |
| Assessed | • Written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes • 40% of A-level |
| Questions | Compulsory short-answer and extended-answer questions. |
Non-exam assessment
| Section | Details |
|---|---|
| What's assessed | the non-exam assessment assesses student's ability to use the knowledge and skills gained through the course to solve or investigate a practical problem. Students will be expected to follow a systematic approach to problem solving, as shown in section 22 above. |
| Assessed | • 75 marks • 20% of A-level |